The morning sun filtered through the kitchen curtains, casting golden rectangles across the floor.
Fin sat at the small table with a steaming mug of tea, opening his system interface with a blink.
A shower of golden sparks erupted in the center of his vision, accompanied by a melodic chime.
[ Milestone reached: 40 corpses harvested ]
[ System interface updating... ]
[ Unlocking: absorption log ]
[ Additional unlock condition met: forty harvested corpses ]
[ Unlocking: skills tab ]
[ Milestone reward: 45 unallocated stat points ]
[ System shop: preview mode available ]
[ EXP: 10,700 / 50,500 ]
He set his tea mug down slowly, his eyes widening as two new menu options turned from gray to radiant gold.
He tapped the unlocked [ Absorption log ] tab with a focused finger.
A golden ledger unfolded before his eyes, listing forty detailed entries of every monster corpse he drained since the alley break.
Each entry displayed the original monster’s silhouette, its level, and the three unchosen traits he left unchosen at the time.
[ Entry 01: E-Rank orc killer - untaken: speed (+4), endurance (+5), skill: cleaver mastery (locked) ]
[ Entry 02: E-Rank orc brute - untaken: strength (+6), speed (+5), skill: iron bone (locked) ]
[ Entry 40: E+ named Shadow Stalker - untaken: agility (+10), strength (+6), skill: shadow step (locked) ]
A notification prompt pulsed at the bottom of the ledger: [ Untaken traits may be purchased using accumulated stat points ].
"I can buy back my past meals," he whispered in astonishment, reading the ledger breakdown twice. "Nothing was actually wasted... it was just stored in the ledger."
The system acted as an automatic savings account, banking every unchosen trait into a permanent database.
He calculated the potential stat gains in his head, his heart racing with excitement.
His early quest rewards already strengthened his body, leaving the new milestone points available for reclamation.
He opened the Skills tab, checking Frost Skin against the locked slots below it.
Three empty skill slots sat bordered in gray, waiting for future combat milestones to unlock their potential.
He shifted his gaze to the [ System shop ] tab, which flickered with a faint, translucent preview banner.
The shop inventory listed legendary equipment, ancient skill scrolls, and divine elixirs with prices that made his head spin.
[ Divine elixir of cleansing: 500,000 shop points ]
[ Dimensional storage ring (1000m³): 1,200,000 shop points ]
[ Class transcendence tome: 10,000,000 shop points ]
’Ten million points,’ he thought, laughing dryly as he dismissed the preview. ’Even in magical systems, the luxury items are built for billionaires.’
He turned on the gas stove, whisking three fresh eggs with chopped scallions and a pinch of black pepper.
He poured the mixture into the hot pan, folding the fluffy omelet before sliding it onto a ceramic plate.
He buttered two thick slices of toast, setting the warm breakfast on the table as footsteps approached.
Jolly walked into the kitchen wearing her oversized slippers, rubbing her sleepy eyes behind her glasses.
"That smells like real breakfast," she said, climbing into her chair with a contented sigh. "Did you wake up early?"
"A chef never reveals his secrets," he smiled, setting a fresh glass of milk beside her plate. "Eat up... you have school at eight."
He packed a lunch container for her afternoon meal, filling the compartments with sliced sweet melon, cherry tomatoes, and steamed rice.
He slipped a small chocolate bar into the side pocket of her blue backpack, zipping the pouch closed.
He handed her the backpack, adjusting the padded straps over her shoulders with a proud grin.
"Study hard today, kiddo," he said, tapping her forehead gently. "I have some shopping to do this afternoon."
"Buy more green onions," she instructed with a serious nod before heading out the door. "And don’t forget the soy sauce."
He waved to her from the hallway, watching her descend the stairs with a bounce in her step.
He returned to the kitchen, clearing the breakfast plates and washing them under the hot tap water.
He set the clean porcelain on the drying rack, listening to the city waking up outside his window.
He refilled his tea mug with boiling water, sitting back down at the table to plan his afternoon schedule.
He opened his notebook, allocating the forty-five points granted by the harvest milestone.
Forty-five stat points sat ready in his account, waiting to be reinvested into raw physical power.
He planned to visit the surplus store after lunch to pick up fresh blades for his next contract.
He checked his watch, noting four hours remained before the markets became crowded with evening shoppers.
The small television on the counter flickered to life with an emergency news bulletin, cutting through the morning calm.
The screen displayed a panoramic satellite view of the stormy Pacific Ocean, where a giant whirlpool of black lightning churned the water.
A red banner scrolled across the bottom of the broadcast: [ Urgent: SS-rank gate signature detected in pacific basin ].
"International diviners have confirmed an unprecedented mana surge three hundred miles off the coast," the news anchor reported in a trembling voice. "The energy signature matches historic disaster-tier thresholds... global defense fleets are mobilizing across three continents."
He stared at the swirling black whirlpool on the television screen, feeling a weight settle in his stomach.
Static crackled inside his skull, sharp and freezing, ripping through his thoughts with sudden force.
[ Sponsor channel: connected ]
A woman’s voice echoed through the static, ancient and melodic, lacking her usual playful laughter.
"Faster, little spark," the Goddess warned with icy seriousness. "The watchers have smelled the tear... they are looking for the door."
The transmission snapped shut before he could formulate a single question, leaving only empty hiss in his ears.
He gripped his tea mug, feeling his knuckles turn white against the ceramic surface.
’The watchers,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes at the empty air. ’The gods who own the top-ranked hunters...’
"Forty records does not mean forty free choices," he said, checking the costs.
The figures beneath each untaken trait remained visible when he selected its entry.
’Good. A shop that shows its price before taking my money already beats most employers.’
He closed the purchase prompt without confirming, leaving the milestone points untouched.
’Tomorrow I compare the whole list. Tonight I need a brain that can add.’
Two hundred meters below the streets, thirty monitors illuminated a research bunker. Shielding and mana runes separated the laboratory from the city above.
Rows of cylindrical glass tanks lined the perimeter walls, filled with bubbling emerald fluid and mutated chimeric embryos.
A masked researcher in a sterile lab coat sat at the central console, typing rapid keystrokes into an encrypted terminal.
The main monitor replayed footage from the rail depot, enlarging his face. On screen, he pried open the blast door with a boundary stake.
A red analytical window popped up over the video feed, matching his facial structure against the municipal census records.
[ Target identified: Fin ]
[ Resonance: null (0.00) ]
[ Physical output: grade D+ ]
[ Anomaly match: 99.8% with project seed ]
The researcher pulled down his mask, revealing a thin, cruel smile as his fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"No mana circuits... biological absorption rate exceeding ninety percent," the researcher whispered into his digital recorder. "We found Subject NULL."
The researcher pressed the execute key, transmitting the target file to the Pyre Syndicate black-ops network.
"Found you, little rat," the man chuckled darkly in the shadows.
He leaned back in his chair, watching the data packets stream through the encrypted firewall toward the surface.
A red strobe light pulsed over the terminal, confirming dispatch of the priority assassination contract.